美国历史文化-美国地理.ppt

American Geography  American location The United States is situated in the central part of North America with its two youngest states – Alaska in the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii in the central Pacific. The country is bounded by Canada on the north and by Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the south with the Atlantic Ocean on the east and Pacific Ocean on the west. The total land area The total area of the country is more than 9.3 million square kilometers, the fourth largest country in the world, smaller than Russia, Canada and China and the total population is more than 300 million now . The whole country includes 50 states and a federal district, the District of Columbia, which is the seat of the Federal Government. In 1959 Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and the 50th. Alaska, the largest in area and Rhode Island(罗得岛州), the smallest; on the mainland,Texas is the largest. Geographical features Three Geographical Divisions 1、The eastern part is made up of the highlands formed by the Appalachian Range. It holds one sixth of the national territory on the continent. These highlands are relatively low. The average altitude is only 800 meters above sea level. 2、The western part consists of high plateaus and mountains formed by the Great Cordillera Range.From west to east, this mountain system is composed of the Coast Range, the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains. The whole area of this part holds one third of the country’s territory on the continent. 3、The great central plain in between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians lies the central plain which occupies one second of America’s landmass on the continent. It stretches from the Great Lakes in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the South. Drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, the eastern part of the central plain is the most important agricultural area in the US. Geographical features The Three Major River System The Mississippi River is the longest and the mos